After they ate, Alice sat back heavily in her chair. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and rest, but she knew she ought to go and start planting the seeds she had bought. The sooner they were planted, the sooner the cottage could be more self-sufficient. Spring would be over quickly, and the supplies she had bought would run out soon. Her expedition into town had thoroughly scared her and she had no intention of going back any time in the near future. So, she would work hard, and with the help of the cottage, they might be able to stay safe for a while.

She was in a bit of a daze as she thought and calculated their supply stocks and plans. As she stood up, she suddenly remembered the princess who was sitting in front of her. The princess was still eating, but unenthusiastically, picking at the bowl of porridge and dried fruit. Alice felt a bit guilty. She had promised better food, and all she had to offer was a different type of porridge. But she had not had the energy to cook the eggs she had brought, or to serve the bread, and really she ought to save both for now. But even toast and eggs would probably seem boring and simple to the royal guest. She was likely used to extravagant meals, and here she was stuck with food of little variety and limited taste. Maybe this simple food even made her feel homesick.

“I’m sorry the food isn’t very good here, I know you are accustomed to better things,” Alice said haltingly. The princess looked up in shock, and Alice belatedly realized her mistake.

“I mean, you just, um, seem refined and I know my home is very humble. We don’t – I don’t have many options for meals all the way out here. You are from a city, right?” Alice held her breath as the princess looked at her with a steely gaze for a moment. As confident as she was that the princess must trust her some now, suddenly admitting she had known the name Princess Aurum all along would be startling and suspicious.

“I am,” the princess replied finally. “From the royal capital, actually. It’s certainly… bigger than this.” Alice nodded, agreeing eagerly.

“I’ve never been, but I imagine it is. I don’t think anyone from the town has been to the capital, even, and that’s the biggest settlement for ages around here. I barely go into town, I prefer to keep to myself out in the forest though, mostly.” Now that sounds like I’m complaining about her company. “So it’s nice! That you are here, I mean. But I still am sorry if the food is lacking.” Not exactly smooth, Alice thought, wishing she hadn’t spoken at all.

The princess looked oddly conflicted, but in the end, she nodded her regal head in a slightly haughty but gracious manner. “I am grateful for your hospitality.”

Alice blushed, gratified by the thanks and suddenly tongue-tied. As the silence stretched on, though, it occurred to her that the princess had just tacitly agreed that the food was subpar. The more she considered it, the more she was rather irritated that the princess hadn’t tried to reassure her the food was all right. Especially since she had nearly died to get the dried fruit in question! Shaking off her now-complicated feelings, she just turned around from the table and started cleaning up the kitchen.

As she cleaned around the cottage, her muscles screamed in protest, but she did her best to ignore them, moving gracelessly but steadily about her chores. The princess, for her part, did not get up to help. Maybe she had used up all of her independence and goodwill the night before. Right now she seemed happy to play the part of the pampered guest. As Alice bustled about, the princess sat still and comfortable, staring at her sometimes as though mystified to see someone sweeping and washing dishes before her very eyes. At one point, she started to sigh, as though deathly bored. Alice didn’t even think the princess meant to do it; she was honestly just that bored and ill-mannered.

Alice grumbled a bit internally, finding the beautiful woman infuriating now that they were both healthy, awake, and not in crisis. If you find watching me clean so boring, get a book! Or go for a walk. Entertain yourself, Your Highness! Or better yet, help me, you lazy, rude little… Alice shook her head, drawing a curious look from the still-watching princess. This was hardly fair. The princess might be a bit rude and entitled, but she had also braved the cold and dark and danger to save Alice. She had survived in the woods alone for days. Alice really ought to be respectful and understanding. Hadn't she said just yesterday that guests shouldn't do chores?

The princess chose that moment to huff loudly, stand up, and plop herself on the armchair, still watching Alice who had just been about to gather the cushions to beat out the dust and wash the covers. She was like a giant blonde cat, all gleaming fur and haughty poses, staring at Alice intently with pale golden eyes. Sighing quietly to herself as she turned away, Alice decided to start her work in the garden, as much to avoid the princess as to get started on planting.

Outside was peaceful. Alice always felt better surrounded by plants and greenery, and the forest seemed to welcome her. She imagined she could hear murmurs of concern from the pine and oak trees surrounding the cottage, and the newly trimmed and replanted blackberries and rosebushes seemed to wave at her. Alice checked over them, pleased and surprised to find they were budding early, praising them as she checked them for insects.

Once they were watered and cared for, she set about planting the vegetable seeds she had bought in the small plots she had already cleared so far, careful to space them out according to the guidance in the gardening book the house had helpfully set out on the shelf for her. Partway through the first plot, she felt eyes on the back of her head. Turning around in a panic, her heart leaping, Alice was fully convinced the rider from the previous night had followed them home, but instead, she found herself looking at the princess. She was leaning against the front door frame, arms crossed, watching Alice intently with an ambiguous expression.

Fired up by her flash of panic and still irritated with her royal highness, Alice said, somewhat snappily, “Come over here and help.”

Pure shock flooded those golden eyes, and after a long moment – during which Alice started to feel a bit dizzy with regret and apprehension at her own outburst – the princess moved over to the garden plot. Alice started giving instructions immediately, not wanting the princess to change her mind.

“I’m planting lettuce here. You can do this part, it's simple. The soil is already tilled. You don’t want to bury these seeds, just scatter them over the soil in rows. We will moisten the soil with the water from that bucket over there. Once that water is out, we can get more from the well. I will show you how.” Alice tried to cover her awkwardness with practicality and soon found herself immersed in the task, not worried about offending her new helper and instead just focused on finishing the planting. She ignored the still shell-shocked expression on the princess’s face, only paying attention to the royal at all when she seemed confused or hesitant or started to make a mistake.

The princess made quite a few mistakes, and eventually Alice found herself completely comfortable correcting her and even scolding her.

“I said uncovered. Lettuce seeds need light to germinate! You will smother them that way, and then what will we eat?”

“Don’t drown them! You just washed all the seeds away! Wet the soil first, then scatter the seeds.”

“If the bucket is empty, fill it up! Don’t just leave it for the next person!”

As the day wore into the afternoon, they made steady progress, finishing the already cleared plots quickly. Alice then started back on clearing more gardening plots of brush and blackberries and roses, much more strenuous work that the princess shied away from. Instead, she sat on the wall and watched Alice work some more. This time Alice did not push her, feeling more generous now after their teamwork throughout the day. Even the odd staring didn’t bother Alice anymore, not when she was outside and comfortable and relaxed. Time passed quickly, and eventually, Alice felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Aliss. You need to stop,” said the princess. “You are still hurt from yesterday. Let me heal you and let’s go eat something. Come on.”  The commanding demeanor was in stark contrast to the hesitant gardening helper from before, and Alice realized dazedly that she liked the princess more when she was acting as a healer. She was confident but not imperious, serious but kind.